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Foundation Repair in Baytown Texas

Foundation repair in Baytown, Texas is a common problem because of the unique geology and location of the city. It is located about twenty two miles east of downtown Houston at the mouth of the San Jacinto River on Galveston Bay. Its average elevation is 34 feet above sea level. Baytown has a total area of 33.2 square miles, of which 98.49% is land area and the remaining 1.51% is surface water. Also contributing to the many concrete slab foundation repair problems is the fact that a significant part of the developed real estate has been built upon reclaimed marshes, swamps, and prairies.

Another contributing factor to the relatively unstable soil in the area is the fact that Baytown is surrounded on three sides by water. It is bordered on the east by Cedar Bayou and on the south and west by Galveston Bay. The entire Baytown area is flat, at a low elevation, and located near Galveston Bay which make it prone to recurring flooding.

For more information about Dawson Foundation Repair services, see the following:

Baytown Soil Characteristics As They Affect Foundation Repair

The soil in the Baytown area is primarily a combination of sand and clay that was deposited over many thousands of years by river sediments. These sediments were also mixed with animal and plant matter over many, many years and resulted in oil deposits beneath the surface. However, it is the clay in the soil that creates soil movement – the enemy of concrete slab foundations. When clay becomes wet or saturated with water it swells and increases in volume. This swelling creates movement underneath foundations that can cause considerable damage to the foundation and to the home or commercial building. During times of hot, dry weather the clay soils will lose moisture and shrink. This shrinkage can be severe and often it is so great that the clay soils literally “shrink away” from the concrete slab foundations. If there is no soil touching the bottom of portions of the foundation then that portion of the foundation may collapse to find support. Rapid increases and decreases in moisture content of clay soils is a constant foundation repair problem in Baytown.